How to improve butterfly swimming technique

 

Butterfly Swim: Technique, Mistakes and Drills

The butterfly stroke is a swimming style where the arms and legs act in coordination. The arms perform a pull and then a push that propels the body forward.

The arm stroke is performed by simultaneously bringing the arms out of the water surface and forwards, and bringing them back in. The body has an undulating action, similar to the way a dolphin swims.

Practicing the butterfly stroke requires technique and dedication, as it is physically demanding due to its intensity and strength. However, it is easily taught to children. Beginners find the most difficult part to be the return of the arms forward.

Swimming butterfly requires a lot of body coordination, and the way your arms move with your legs while breathing can be very confusing, even for experienced swimmers.

Breathing may be the most complex part of this swimming style, even more so than the strokes or the movement of the pelvis. The rules say that the swimmer cannot completely lift his head out of the water, so the chin must remain submerged, or alternatively, he can turn his head and breathe sideways, although this technique is not recommended. If breathing is done incorrectly, it is very easy to swallow water and start drowning.

This form of swimming was first seen in the 1930s, as a variant of the traditional style. The fact that swimming with arms out of the water was allowed allowed swimmers to go faster during competitions.

Performed correctly,  butterfly is the second fastest swimming stroke in the world. With enough training and coordination, it can be almost as easy to swim as other swimming strokes. However, competition distances are limited to 50, 100 and 200 meters.

The butterfly stroke can be swum for much longer than the time allowed in international competitions. For example, Frenchman Sylvain Estadieu was the third person to swim the English Channel, and he did so using this stroke.

The training required to achieve the butterfly stroke produces a remarkable development of the muscles of the back, arms and shoulders. It helps to improve breathing and, alternating with the freestyle, allows the swimmer to oxygenate during the training plan . When it comes to competing, breathing will be a key factor when it comes to swimming the butterfly correctly.

Currently, and for a few years now, the butterfly has been favoured in swimming schools, as it allows children to gain confidence in the water. It is also useful for beginners to learn other swimming techniques more easily and fluently.

Swim butterfly

The butterfly stroke begins with both arms submerged. Then, the arm is pulled downwards with the forearms, to push the water and gain enough momentum to lift the body out of the water. Both arms do this movement at the same time and with the same rhythm.

Next comes the pull phase, where you accelerate both arms through the water and keep your hands within the line of your body. You then have to push back with your hands to get to the last part of the pull phase, up and out of the water, to the recovery phase.

Finally, with a relaxed movement, both arms should be brought simultaneously to the surface of the water. They should be kept there until the swimmer re-enters the pool, and the position of the arms should always be in line with the width of the shoulders.

 

Common mistakes in technique

Hands and Elbows

Moving the arms in recovery with the palms facing down or bending the elbows is a very common mistake in butterfly practice  . The swimmer tends to jump out of the water with the arms or hands in freestyle positions. It almost looks like the athlete is trying to jump over an invisible obstacle.

Instead, you should keep your arms extended when you are out of the water and keep your palms facing backwards from the moment they come out of the back until they reach the front.

Breathing

A common mistake is taking too long to breathe and therefore keeping the head out of the pool for too long. If you watch experienced swimmers closely, you will see that after breathing, the head is the first thing to return to the water, before the arms. Another common mistake is letting the head enter the pool after the arms are already in the water.

Knees

Another mistake is to exaggerate the bending of the knees, which should not be bent openly when performing the  butterfly swimming kick . This erroneous technique is seen again and again during training. When a swimmer breathes, he tends to fully bend his knees, move his hips forward and then, when he takes a breath, he dives back into the water without having the body line correctly.

Exercises to improve butterfly swimming

Practice and more practice, that is the best advice to improve swimming  butterfly , to perfect the technique and increase endurance.

It can be tricky and frustrating for beginner swimmers at first, but drills like doing the one-arm butterfly stroke and training with different kick styles can greatly increase a swimmer's confidence and help them overcome the difficulty of this stroke.

It is recommended to do arm exercises, such as weight lifting and push-ups, to increase strength and endurance in the back and shoulders. The more technique, endurance and strength you have, the easier it is to perform the butterfly stroke correctly.

Performing breathing exercises is also highly recommended to prevent swimmers from running out of breath in the middle of the pool and having to stop their training or competition.

Here we have a video with exercises that we can do to improve the technique: